My alarm screams notifying me that I need to wake up and address what I heard before going to sleep. Oh yeah, I wipe the dried saliva from the corners of my mouth. Last night is still on my mind.The residue of my past relationship is sticky to the touch. My ex-fiance may be playing mind games to see if she still has control over me. Should her subtle reminders of how painful it is to have lost my potential family consume the rest of my day? Or nah?

Let’s take a sharp right turn towards getting over it and moving on to having a better day now that I have completed my mandatory eight hours of work and feel like getting out of the house. How about some sushi? Mmmmm. I could hit up Zensei on the corner of 30th and Upas, only two blocks from my house. Out the back alley I go.

Passing the green ivy walls of Alexander’s, I spot my destination--Zensei Sushi on the corner of 30th and Upas--only two blocks from my house. The moment you swing the door open the aromas of fresh food dance towards you spinning the bursting ambiance around like they are dancing with the stars.

“Welcome to Zensei! Please have a seat wherever you like,” the sushi chef says.

Oh yes, it’s about to go down! This is the perfect vantage point. I can see my dream apartment across the street and the Kwik stop liquor store where everybody knows my name. Plus I am still enjoying the dance that greets me perpetually.

The server approaches and asks what she can start me off with. I tell her to give me a Sapporo,a bottle of warm sake, some Garlic Edamame and a few more moments to make a selection.EVERYTHING looks so good. The menu is like my instagram feed of single ladies, lonely housewives, and crushes from way back.

How do you choose just one? The sushi selection is as diverse as the female population. Each has its unique ingredients, flavor, and experience. I can’t decide, so I ask my server, Anji, who happens to administer the instagram feed for this gorgeous establishment, what I should try. She recommends a local favorite, the White Widow...wow. I order it. I also get a Dragon roll. But there are so many choices. I break the bind that clings the chopsticks and spin the one from my right hand on the menu until the tip of the stick points at the Tropical roll. I order it.

I like this seat because I can see everything going on outside. :)

The art is amazing. The music is 80’s rare grooves of Indie Rock, R&B, and Electro-pop. The conversations of 30-somethings in one of San Diego’s hippest parts of town contrast like the species of the Get Along Gang images at the Vegan site http://www.mayanbutterfly.com/getalonggang2.html.

My food arrives. Delicious.

My dream apartment beckons me adjacently from my seat.

Convenience. Fun. Potential.

Anji says everyone at the bar is about to do a Sake Bomb and asks me if I am down. Yup. Sure am. She pours another shot of Sake and explains that I should shout something then drop my sake into my Sapporo and chug it.

Done. Great. I will be back. Out the door, across the street is Bluefoot. What are they doing tonight?

She cards me. “Where is Big Cal,” I ask. “I’m not used to getting carded here,” I joke.

“We don’t know where he is. He is supposed to be here,” Mishawn tells me. Mishawn is another 30 something North Park person who happens to be really extremely cool and works at the Bluefoot.

It's a bit empty without my favorite bouncer, Big Cal, a former football teammate that cracks jokes and makes everyone feel welcome. Where could he possibly be?

I enter and stumble into a scene from one of those IFC movies. There are artists everywhere, painting, drawing, conversing, and being North Parkish.

Maybe a Whiskey Ginger to smooth the night out a bit? How about "yes!"

The DJ is spinning dope hip hop just above a lady creating a picture of Tupac Shakur.

Can this night get any better? I make a round or two. Shake a hand or two. Then exit back to the crib to not think about what woke me up this morning.